Did you get caught up in the 25k race traffic jam down near the beach on Sunday Morning? (10/7/2012)

Did you get caught up in the 25k race traffic jam down near the beach on Sunday Morning? (10/7/2012) Apparently, you were not alone! In the pre-dawn hours down at Kailua Beach Park, as racers departed Kailua Beach Park on their 25K run, traffic was stopped on Kailua Road (near the island across from Kalapawai Market) for over 1 hour. This “road closure” prevented hundreds of people from entering Kailua Beach Park and Lanikai, including public buses, mothers with babies, and residents trying to take advantage of the stunningly beautiful morning. Many stuck in traffic questioned how emergency vehicles would enter those areas in the event of an emergency.

For the record: Mid Pacific Runner’s Club is the organization that held the permit, 808 Race Hawaii licenses the rights to the event from Mid Pac Runners Club.

Calls to the Department of Transportation did not yield any clear answers, and we are currently waiting for a call back from the Department of Transportation so they can answer questions about the permit that was issued. The organizer of the race made comments to one resident that her complaints would prevent him from having races in the future. As someone who does event planning, I’m very skeptical that DOT would issue a permit to close a major artery in Kailua without requiring any notice to the residents of Kailua. This morning I spoke, at length, with Raul from Boca Hawaii about Sunday’s situation. He’s extremely apologetic about this situation, and has acknowledged that his permit did not allow him to shut down the streets entirely. Last year the race had 750 runners, and this year the enrollment increased to 906 runners. According to Raul, it was the HPD sargeant on duty that made the call to shut down the road for safety reasons. Raul was unaware the situation was occurring until he started receiving phone calls while he was in the pace car following the leading runners. At that point, there was nothing that could be done to rectify the situation.

Raul has done running events for decades here in Hawaii, and according to him, this is the first time he’s encountered this situation. While I know there were many unhappy people, sometime “stuff” happens. Being one who organizes events, no matter how prepared you think you might be, there will always be speed bumps. Sometimes the speed bumps are easier to overcome, sometimes they are a bit harsh. Raul is considering several different options to make sure this does not occur again, including possibly relocating the race.

Did you get caught up in the 25k race traffic jam down near the beach on Sunday Morning? (10/7/2012)

Did you get caught up in the 25k race traffic jam down near the beach on Sunday Morning? (10/7/2012) Apparently, you were not alone! In the pre-dawn hours down at Kailua Beach Park, as racers departed Kailua Beach Park on their 25K run, traffic was stopped on Kailua Road (near the island across from Kalapawai Market) for over 1 hour. This “road closure” prevented hundreds of people from entering Kailua Beach Park and Lanikai, including public buses, mothers with babies, and residents trying to take advantage of the stunningly beautiful morning. Many stuck in traffic questioned how emergency vehicles would enter those areas in the event of an emergency.

For the record: Mid Pacific Runner’s Club is the organization that held the permit, 808 Race Hawaii licenses the rights to the event from Mid Pac Runners Club.

Calls to the Department of Transportation did not yield any clear answers, and we are currently waiting for a call back from the Department of Transportation so they can answer questions about the permit that was issued. The organizer of the race made comments to one resident that her complaints would prevent him from having races in the future. As someone who does event planning, I’m very skeptical that DOT would issue a permit to close a major artery in Kailua without requiring any notice to the residents of Kailua. This morning I spoke, at length, with Raul from Boca Hawaii about Sunday’s situation. He’s extremely apologetic about this situation, and has acknowledged that his permit did not allow him to shut down the streets entirely. Last year the race had 750 runners, and this year the enrollment increased to 906 runners. According to Raul, it was the HPD sargeant on duty that made the call to shut down the road for safety reasons. Raul was unaware the situation was occurring until he started receiving phone calls while he was in the pace car following the leading runners. At that point, there was nothing that could be done to rectify the situation.

Raul has done running events for decades here in Hawaii, and according to him, this is the first time he’s encountered this situation. While I know there were many unhappy people, sometime “stuff” happens. Being one who organizes events, no matter how prepared you think you might be, there will always be speed bumps. Sometimes the speed bumps are easier to overcome, sometimes they are a bit harsh. Raul is considering several different options to make sure this does not occur again, including possibly relocating the race.